Monday, July 07, 2008

Habitability of TZ Arietis and why ‘Planet of the Apes’ is evolution misunderstood

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g Stars - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star TZ Arietis?
g Abodes -According to a new study, differences between the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars could be the results of an asteroid impact. The finding could yield important information about the history and evolution of the Martian environment. See article.
g Message - Want to get a sense of SETI’s history and varying projects? Jodrell Bank Observatory offers an easy to follow yet informative primer.
g Imagining -Charley Lineweaver explains how the movie “Planet of the Apes” is based on a flawed notion of evolution. Understanding this, he says, has implications for our search for life elsewhere in the universe. See article.
g Aftermath - In the next two dozen years, the Allen Telescope Array will parse the nearest thousand light-years of space. If there are other occupants of this galactic neighborhood, we could turn up a signal. But then what? Would the discovery be put under wraps, either voluntarily or by government edict? If we found a signal, would you know? See article.

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